


Last One You Love

by overlymetaromantic



Category: Free!
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, MakoRin Week, Post-Canon, and my attempt to participate, college au of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5431013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overlymetaromantic/pseuds/overlymetaromantic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a year of not seeing one another and a contrived set of circumstances throwing them back together, sometimes a couple of weeks is all it takes to fall in love.</p><p>1. In which Rin's a little lost in Tokyo, and Makoto is more than willing to welcome him into his home.</p><p>2. In which fate helps nudge things along, at least a little.</p><p>3. In which Sousuke works in a bakery, and having friends around can make it a little too easy to say things you didn't mean to say.</p><p>4. In which old insecurities resurface, but luckily change isn't always a bad thing.</p><p>5. In which there is a basketball game, and Makoto really is a sight to behold on the court.</p><p>6. In which sometimes the limits you place on yourself are the only thing holding you back, but there's something about the holidays that can bring people together regardless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost + Home

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being posted much later than I had wanted to, but here goes my attempt to participate in MakoRin week! It's been a very long time since I've written for Free!, but MakoRin is probably one of my pairings to come out of the series, and since I discovered the prompt challenge basically...yesterday...I have decided to give it a shot!
> 
> I've done this for other challenge weeks I've participated in, but I should note that I'm aiming to have each prompt connect with the next, so that it's more of an ongoing getting-together-story rather than a bunch of one-shots. With luck, I'll manage to more or less get the prompts up on their respective days, but regardless of that, I hope that anyone who gives this a read enjoys!

Of all the ways Rin wants to spend his winter break from both training and school, being stuck in Tokyo without a place to crash is not exactly at the top of his list.

Somehow, the hotel he had been planning to stay at had managed to cancel his reservation, and since it’s the holiday season, getting his room back is impossible, much less landing a new one. The whole reason he had even gone to Tokyo was because he’d thought he would have a place to stay before heading home to spend the New Year with his sister and mom--there are people he wants to visit, and stopping here first made the most sense, at least up until he had arrived at his hotel only to be told they didn’t have room for him.

Rin snaps his phone open with an irritated sigh and hits call. It rings three times before Sousuke picked up.

"Yo."

"Hey, my hotel decided to fuck me over and cancelled my reservation. Can you come pick me up?"

"Uh." Rin can hear Sousuke rummaging around in the background, and he maneuvers his suitcase with his ankle to get it at a better angle to prop his feet up. At least the receptionist hadn’t been so much of an asshole as to kick him out of the lobby into the cold--it isn’t snowing yet, but it’s getting close. "I’m pretty sure my dad has the car right now, I don’t see the keys anywhere--where are you, anyway?"

"I’m at the Hotel Narita, it’s maybe a mile from the airport." There’s another long drag of silence from Sousuke’s end, and Rin levels an unimpressed look at the wall in lieu of Sousuke’s actual face. "Sousuke I am literally right by your district, tell me you’re not googling it."

"Why would I be googling it," Sousuke deadpans, but the distant click of what was almost certainly a laptop being closed gives him away even more than his tone. The fact that he isn’t there to appreciate Rin’s increasingly displeased expression is beginning to piss him off. "What do you want me to get you for anyway?"

"Well I’m not exactly likely to miraculously land a room at a hotel any time soon," Rin says slowly, and he can hear Sousuke chuckle, albeit somewhat apologetically.

"Ah, yeah, my house is not really the better option right now."

"Seriously?" Rin knows he’s whining, but he’s tired and not having a bed to collapse on is not helping his mood. He kicks at his suitcase a little petulantly. "Is something going on?"

"The entire house has been taken over by sweet potatoes," Sousuke says flatly. It takes Rin a moment to fully process that.

"Potatoes?"

"Yup." It’s remarkable how unenthusiastic Sousuke sounds, and Rin doesn’t bother to hide a snigger. "My dad’s trying out a new recipe. Apparently it’s very popular in the West."

Rin laughs openly, although he sobers up quickly at the reminder that he’s still stuck in a hotel lobby, and he runs a hand through his hair. "Goddammit, what am I supposed to do now? Do you at least know Tokyo well enough to recommend a place that might not be completely booked up?"

"Why don’t you call Makoto?" Rin barely manages to choke back what likely would have been a very embarrassing noise. The sound that did escape was probably still less than desirable, but at least it was quiet enough that Sousuke won’t pick up on it--if he knew Rin had been nursing a crush on Makoto for years without even realizing until recently, he would never let Rin hear the end of it. It was impressive what some distance could do to a person, along with a few Skype calls that made you realize just how much you liked spending time with them. "His break should have started by now, I doubt he’d have any issues taking you in."

"You don’t have to make me sound like some kind of lost cat," Rin complains, although it lacks the bite he would have preferred. With luck, the burning sensation growing on the back of his neck won’t show on his face, much less in his voice. "In any case, there is no amount of money you could pay me to live with Haru for two weeks, like three’s enough of a crowd without _him_ being a part of it."

"Makoto and Haru aren’t living together," Sousuke replies, and Rin jerks in his seat; the movement nearly knocks his luggage over, and he scrambles to keep it from clattering to the ground. "In fact, I’m pretty sure Makoto lives alone, so congratulations, there’s that bullet dodged. Why would you think I’d be the better option to guide you around Tokyo anyway?"

"Because you _live_ here? And since when do you and Makoto talk enough for you to know that anyway?"

Rin can practically hear Sousuke’s grin through the phone. "You should call him. Maybe he’ll tell you."

"Oi, what the hell--!" The sudden lack of background noise makes it clear that Sousuke has hung up. Rin glowers at his now silent phone, and hopes Sousuke can feel it all the way in his house holed up with sweet potatoes.

It isn’t that he doesn’t want to talk to Makoto--quite the opposite, actually, but it’s been such a long time since they’ve actually seen each other in person that Rin’s more than a little concerned he’ll end up making an ass of himself. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, and of course now that he can admit that he cares about him, it makes the prospect of screwing up all the worse. The fact that he isn’t sure if Makoto returns the affection, or would even be interested in returning it, in no way helps the matter:  Makoto is always sweet and nice and eager to talk, but even if it’s what makes Rin like him so much, it’s hard to deny that Makoto is like that with everyone. In the end, he’d rather not read too much into it, especially not with their hard-earned rekindled friendship on the line.

Rin sighs and brings up Makoto’s contact info with a silent curse at Sousuke. His phone barely has time to ring once when it’s suddenly cut off by Makoto’s voice. "Rin?"

It takes Rin a moment to fully process Makoto’s greeting, startled by the sudden connection. "M-Makoto, shit, hey!" He winces at the way his voice decides to crack at the end, and shifts his phone over to his other ear as if that’ll make any difference, although it does leave them feeling noticeably hot.

"Hi! Sorry--my phone was right next to me, I didn’t mean to startle you."

Rin is positive Makoto is wearing that ridiculous apologetic smile he always offers whenever he thinks he’s created even the slightest inconvenience. He deliberately ignores the way the thought makes his stomach feel like it’s full of butterflies. "Don’t worry, you’re fine. I was actually hoping you could do me a favor?"

"Is something wrong?" Makoto immediately sounds worried, and Rin knows he’s gone for him when his first instinct is to tell him that’s everything fine, as he’s stuck in a hotel lobby with no room to check in and it’s still threatening to snow outside.

"Kinda? It’s nothing bad!" he immediately adds when he hears Makoto take a sharp breath. "I’m in Tokyo and I need a place to stay. My hotel canceled my reservation, I was wondering if it’d be possible I could crash with you for a day or two while I sort it out?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course! Are you still at the airport?"

"No, I’m at the Hotel Narita, maybe a mile away."

"Okay! There should be a train line directly from there to the university, I can meet you there if you’d like. Oh--but with the weather, you’d probably prefer not to walk. I can see if I borrow one of my friends’ cars, I can pick you up at the hotel instead--"

"It’s okay, Makoto, I can take the train, I’m not going to make you drive two hours to get me," Rin says, and it’s impossible to ignore the warmth blooming inside of him at this point, even as he stands up from his seat and drags his suitcase with him out into the cold December air. "How often does it run?"

"Every twenty minutes or so. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?"

"It’s fine, really." Rin grins in spite of himself and quickly checks his phone to make sure he’s walking in the right direction. "I’ll see you in a bit, alright?"

"Alright." Makoto sounds a bit doubtful, as if he actually wants to spend the next four hours driving in the cold for Rin. The idea is both incredibly appealing and utterly ridiculous, and absolutely something Makoto would do. "Stay safe out there, then, okay?"

"Will do," Rin says warmly, and he hangs up before he says anything stupid, thankful for the first time since he’s stepped out for the freezing air.

  
***

Three hours waiting in an airport, nine hours sitting on a plane, and then two hours standing on a train is all worth it just to see Makoto beaming, his cheeks ruddy from the cold even underneath his thick scarf. Rin grins back and readjusts his grip on his suitcase as he makes his way across the train station.

"Hey," he says, as if that could possibly encapsulate the way his heart feels like it’s just leapt up in his throat. Seeing Makoto in person after nearly a year is both everything he feared and hoped for--his hair’s a little shorter than the last time he saw him, but other than that, he’s exactly the same, except Rin’s getting to see his bright smile in person rather than slightly distorted over a computer screen, and that makes all the difference.

"Hi!" Makoto gestures cheerfully to station, the first flakes of snow starting to come down. "You made it back to Japan!"

"Yeah, I’ve definitely missed my winters being bitterly cold rather than sunny and warm," Rin says, but the sarcasm is distinctly undermined by the fact that he’s incapable of repressing his smile. Makoto just continues to grin brilliantly.

"My apartment’s not to far from here, don’t worry."

It is thankfully a short walk, less than ten minutes, although Rin is about ready to collapse by the time Makoto leads him up a short flight of stairs and pulls out a key.

"I’ll go ahead and turn the heating on, you can take your time getting comfortable," he says as he unlocks the door. Rin just nods gratefully and stumbles in after Makoto through the open door, immediately dropping his suitcase off to the side even before he thinks to kick the door shut. It’s a small apartment, but clean-looking and nice--there’s an open kitchen off to one side, a small living room off to the other, and a short hallway that Makoto has disappeared into, likely leading to the bedroom in the back. Rin starts to remove his jacket and shoes, and by the time he’s gotten to wresting his scarf off, Makoto comes back, now sans his own coat and scarf. The sudden rush of heat Rin feels is much more likely due to the now activated heating rather than anything else.

"There’s technically only one bedroom, but I have a spare futon I can set out, either out here or in my room, whichever you’re more comfortable with,” Makoto says. If he didn’t know any better, Rin would say he looks embarrassed. Of course, even though he does know better, that doesn’t stop his face from heating up like the traitorous thing it is. Rin clears his throat.

"Er, whatever’s easier," he says as he steps over the threshold. Makoto beams once again, whatever previous embarrassment most certainly gone, and he sweeps his arms out in a bright gesture.

"Well, welcome home!" Rin allows a very self-indulgent moment to let the implication hang in the air, and this time, Makoto is plainly flustered. "Uh, I mean--"

"I’m home," Rin echoes, perhaps a touch more cheeky than necessary, but the blush that blooms across Makoto’s face makes it more than worth it, even as his own face heats up again in response. Still, seeing Makoto laugh is plenty to get his heart racing in what shouldn’t be such a pleasant way, and he sees no reason to not enjoy it for as long as it lasts.


	2. Fate + Mythical

Somehow, despite the fact that Rin had all the intentions of not taking advantage of Makoto’s hospitality, as Rin put it, for any longer than necessary, two days pass, and then three, and Rin has made no move to gather his stuff back up and go find a hotel that hasn’t been completely booked for the holidays. Makoto certainly isn’t complaining--to say he’s been looking forward to seeing Rin again is something of an understatement, as embarrassing as it is to admit, and all the same he's never one to say no to company, especially Rin.

There’s something about Rin actually being in his flat that feels distinctly unreal:  Makoto is sure it’s more his overly vivid imagination than anything that Rin seems completely at home, his feet kicked up on the coffee table like he’s been living here with Makoto since he first moved in. Though, again, Makoto doesn’t feel particularly inclined to discourage it; he feels a little guilty about that, but as long as he keeps it to himself, then surely no harm can come of it, right?

Of course, the sentiment is ringing a little hollow when Makoto catches himself checking the time for the fifth time in as many minutes. Rin’s been out for just over an hour shopping for groceries:  he had taken one look at the pitiful state of Makoto’s refrigerator and declared he was going to be in charge of the food for the duration of his stay.

"Make a list of any stuff you might want," he’d said, tossing a pad of paper and then a pen that Makoto wasn’t even sure where Rin had found. "And that means stuff you actually want to _eat_ , not just whatever’s cheapest."

Despite Makoto’s protests, Rin not only managed to procure a list from Makoto but had additionally refused all his attempts to give him money to pay with; even his arguments to at least come along were undermined by the fact that he had a last minute meeting with a professor before the semester’s official end. And so, with great reluctance, Makoto had directed Rin towards the nearest convenience store before hurrying off to campus, only for the meeting to end much sooner than he had anticipated, leaving him alone in an apartment that suddenly feels much emptier than it had at the beginning of the week.

In a way, being friends with Rin has always been like this--he’s such a shock of life that his absence is hard to ignore, apparently even when he’s just doing a grocery run, though that just might be Makoto. It had always been easy to rationalize his interest in keeping Rin’s company as being at least in part for Haru’s sake, but it’s getting hard to deny the way even just hearing Rin’s voice is enough to instantly life his mood.

With Haru, their friendship had in a way been born out of circumstance--certainly not in a _bad_ way, not at all, but it was more a consequence of being neighbors for life than anything. Neither Haru nor Makoto were particularly sociable as kids, albeit for different reasons, and so having someone naturally in their lives who understood the feeling was a valuable thing. Haru has always been someone who’s simply been _there_ , consistently a part of the background noise that has made up Makoto’s life. His presence has always been so constant that it was never a question whether or not he’d be there, and some part of Makoto assumes that since that’s how things always have been, then that’s how things will always be. It's comforting, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

But with Rin, so much of the bond they all formed as kids came from coincidence more than anything--even if Rin had initially deliberately sought them out, their reconnection in high school could not have been planned by anything except the universe itself. It feels silly to say them meeting again had to be fate, but at times it’s hard to think otherwise, not with how easily Rin is able to reinsert himself in their lives, no matter how many years have gone by. If Rin had been a whirlwind as a child, then he’s nothing short of a force of nature as a young adult.

It’s edging onto an hour and a half now since Rin set out, and it is getting increasingly difficult for Makoto to remain still on his couch. He shouldn’t be clingy. He shouldn’t let his own desires override the good things he already has, and that includes resisting the urge to check in with Rin.

The store isn’t _that_ far away, though. What if Rin had gotten turned around on his way back, or maybe he never even made it to the store and has been wandering around lost this whole time? It’s not like he’d be familiar with the area, after all, and as much as Makoto has been enjoying living in the city, Tokyo still isn’t the best place for those unfamiliar with it, especially at night. It starts getting dark as early as three in winter, and Rin hasn’t sent him so much as a text since he headed out around two.

Makoto is up and heading for his shoes before he’s even made the conscious decision to go looking for Rin. No matter what the rational side of him says, it’s hard to bite down on the worry that he may have somehow managed to lose Rin in Tokyo in less than a week--not that he has any idea where to start looking for him. He hesitates, halfway through putting his coat on; he could call Rin, but admitting to him why he felt the need to somehow feels more shameful than simply running into him through sheer dumb luck. There are so many different places he could be, though--then, for some reason, the local park springs to mind, and Makoto takes off without questioning the thought.

The park is about fifteen minutes away from his apartment, and is one of the few places in the city that feels a little bit like Iwatobi. Makoto had found completely by accident about a month after he had first landed his apartment, and it quickly became his default jogging route--it’s quiet and green and the river that runs through the middle of it is about as close to the coastline as Makoto can get without actually going to the coast. He makes his way down the path, boots crunching through what spots of snow survived the night, as he randomly chooses which branching path to go down, and then, there, standing just as the edge of the river, is--

"Rin!"

Rin jumps slightly and spins around in a shock of red hair, and the sight is such a relief that Makoto nearly laughs. Rin’s hands are shoved in his pockets, a plastic bag hanging from his wrist, and he looks as surprised as Makoto feels. "Makoto?"

Makoto strides over brightly, and there’s a certain pleasure in how perplexed Rin looks. "What are you doing here?" Rin asks as soon as Makoto is close enough. His brow is furrowed in confusion, cheeks dusted pink from the cold, and in a brief moment of boldness, rather than answer right away, Makoto grabs his hand and spins back around to tug him back in the direction of home.

"Wha--Oi, Makoto!"

"It’s getting cold," Makoto simply says. He can hear Rin sputtering behind him, but he doesn’t make any effort to pull away, his fingers curled slightly around Makoto’s much stronger grip. It’s loose enough that it easily could just be the natural posture of his hands, but that doesn’t stop the tiny sparks of electricity that run under Makoto’s skin every time they brush against each other.

"You didn’t have to go looking for me, you know," Rin grumbles, though he sounds more amused than upset.

"I was just out for a walk," Makoto insists. Rin snorts, and even though Makoto can feel his ears heat up, he decides to accept the whole situation as a good thing.

Makoto doesn’t want to push things, not for his own sake, but for now he can enjoy the feeling of Rin’s hand in his as he leads him back to his apartment, even if this is the closest he’ll get to indulging those quiet desires of his. There’s no need to fight fate, after all, whatever it may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there may be more references to the idea of being lost in this chapter vs. the previous one, but I name-dropped fate at the end, that counts! (Also this is likely going to be a running theme of me turning the prompts into running themes, but ideally each chapter will actually correlate with its original prompt at least slightly. I'm very bad at doing literal interpretations of prompts orz)


	3. Coincidence + Confession

"So Sousuke suggested that we meet him around three. Does that sound good to you?"

It takes Rin a second to process the question from where he’s relaxed on the couch before he looks up from his book to stare at Makoto. "Wait, are you saying he texted you and not me? What the hell?" Makoto just shrugs, although there’s a distinctly mischievous glint to his grin, and Rin turns back to his book with a snort. "Sure, that’s fine, though I still don’t get how you two got to talking. Where are we supposed to be meeting anyway?"

"Oh! Hang on, let me ask him." The quiet sound of Makoto typing fills the air again, although now that Rin’s aware of it it’s much harder to ignore. He puts the book back down in order to watch Makoto instead. He’s seated himself on the stool he put at the edge of a kitchen counter to create a make-shift breakfast bar, and when he catches Rin looking he offers him a bright smile before his attention is recaptured by his phone, thankfully in time for him to miss Rin’s blush.

"Um," Makoto glances back over at Rin, who cocks an eyebrow at his sudden worried tone. "So Sousuke gave me an address, but he doesn’t want me to tell you where--but, I’ve been there before!" he adds in response to whatever Rin’s face has done, because he’s not even entirely sure how he feels about that. "It’s really good, trust me, even if you not a fan of sweets there should be something there you’ll like." There’s something in his voice that sounds almost teasing; even if he hasn’t settled on how exactly he’s going to make it clear to Sousuke he does not appreciate whatever weird intervention he considers this to be, he can certainly rise to that particular challenge in the meantime.

"Well we can’t all be like you." Rin gestures to where Makoto’s slouched over the counter with an exaggerated scowl, and Makoto tilts his head to the side like he’s confused. "Seriously, how the fuck you manage to stay in shape with a diet like yours is beyond me."

Makoto furrows his brow further and glances down at himself as if he somehow forgot how fucking big he is. Of course, Rin wouldn’t be surprised if that was true, considering the way he carries himself sometimes, and he feels yet another spike of affection for him. He hastily buries his nose back in his book before Makoto catches on.

"I’m not _that_ bad." Rin can hear the sulkiness in Makoto’s voice, and he very determinedly does not look up.

"Yes, you are," Rin says, "And yes, I _do_ have the authority to say that." As he had quite bluntly pointed out when he saw exactly what Makoto was surviving off of, Rin had lived on his own for years, and even before that he was living with a single mother and a younger sister; it isn’t exactly surprising he knew how to cook.

"Is this because I won’t tell you where we’re going?" Rin grins and turns a page. " _Riiin_."

"When do we need to head out? Since I obviously don’t know how far away it is," Rin says cheerfully. Makoto sighs in defeat.

"Probably in twenty minutes or so," he says, sounding distinctly put-out, and Rin sniggers, still deliberately not looking up. There’s a sudden weight next to him on the couch, and he finds the book being tugged out of his hands, and Makoto is suddenly very close. He stiffens instinctively, but Makoto’s already moving away. "You shouldn’t be rude to your host, RinRin, it’s not nice," he pouts, handing Rin his book back, which he accepts a little numbly; imagining Makoto’s expression is one thing, but seeing it mere inches away is going to take a little more effort to recover from. He clears his throat.

"Sorry," he manages to say, and Makoto smiles brightly.

"You’re forgiven," he says. Rin clears his throat again.

"Still not telling me where?"

"Nope!"

***

The mystery place is a short bus ride away, and Rin immediately knows why Sousuke hadn’t told him where he wanted them all meet up, considering he and Makoto are standing outside the Yamazaki family bakery. Rin very nearly laughs, because _really_ , how lazy could he get--although, it’s more likely because he didn’t want to bother having attended to find a place farther than a block from his house. He had managed to get lost on the Samezuka grounds, after all, twice, and despite attending the school for an entire year.

Makoto seems to take Rin’s shaking shoulders as a bad sign, because he immediately switches into his mom mode, as if he needs to assuage Rin’s reservations. "It’s small but it’s gotten lots of recommendations and good reviews for its customer service, and--"

"You do know Sousuke’s family owns this place," Rin interrupts. Makoto blinks once, and then again, and it’s taking everything Rin has to bite his grin back.

"Wait, really?"

"You _did_ say you’ve been here before, right?" It’s impossible to hold his grin back at the look of utter betrayal that passes over Makoto’s face, and Rin hastily leads the way in before anything similar to earlier can happen again. "Come on, we don’t want to be late for our reservation!"

The last time Rin had actually visited Sousuke’s family’s business had been in elementary school, but it looks like nothing has changed between now and then, except maybe the booth seats have been updated. The front counter isn’t particularly busy, but most of the seats spread throughout are occupied, and the air smells sweet like even this late in the day there are still goods being freshly baked. Rin wrinkles his nose slightly as Makoto hurries up to his side.

Sousuke pops his head out from behind a corner that Rin remembers leads to the kitchen right on cue, and if Makoto really had hung out here with Sousuke before it’s a small miracle he never realized he at the very least worked here, considering he’s wearing the bakery’s company apron. "Hey! I’ll be with you in a sec, Haru’s already here." He jabs his thumb over his shoulder to where Haru is sitting quietly in a table by the corner, sipping what looks to be a cup of tea.

Despite that he’s obviously still coming to terms with his revelation, Makoto offers a pleasantly friendly wave in greeting, although Rin doesn’t bother in favor of having entirely different bone to pick. "You’re texting _Haru_ now too? Are you just trying to work your way through all of my friends or some shit?"

Sousuke shrugs. "Someone’s got to make sure they’re aware of the truth about you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Rin manages to not quite shout, but Sousuke’s already disappeared from view. Makoto chuckles softly.

"You two really are good friends," he says, and he continues brightly before Rin can interrupt. "Come on, let’s go join Haru!"

As expected, Haru manages to offer an even more underwhelming welcome than Sousuke had, barely even glancing up as Rin slides into the seat across from him while Makoto chooses to pull up a chair by Haru’s side.

"Hello, Haru-chan!" Makoto says brightly. Haru gives him a rather withering look, although Rin can see his very faint smile from behind the edge of his teacup.

"Drop the -chan," Haru replies in turn, and he immediately narrows his eyes at Rin’s sharp grin. They fall into easy banter until Sousuke reappears at their table, a variety of dishes balanced carefully in his hands.

"Chocolate mousse, gingersnaps--don’t worry, they’re not sweet--and a slice of sweet potato cake, on the house," he lists off before he plops down into the chair next to Rin. Rin raises his eyebrow at the last dish, and even halfway through getting his apron off Sousuke doesn’t miss the look. "Yes, we made a cake out of potatoes."

"Why didn’t you tell me this was your family’s bakery, Sousuke?" Makoto asks--he doesn’t sound anywhere near as sullen as he had when Rin broke the news to him, although it’s hard to tell if he’s hiding his hurt, or if he had actually been teasing Rin earlier. Haru glances briefly over at him, and Rin desperately hopes he can’t tell exactly how distracting the thought of that is.

"Did I not? Guess it never came up." Sousuke shrugs again. "Sorry," he adds, not exactly as an afterthought, but it is obviously in response to Makoto’s slight pout. Rin entirely fails to hold back a snort, and luckily Sousuke takes it as being directed at him. "Problem?"

"I was under the impression we were supposed to be getting top-notch customer service," Rin drawls, and he sees Makoto start to turn pink out of the corner of his eye. "You didn’t even offer anything to drink!"

"There’s already tea on the table, you have cups, you can serve yourself," Sousuke says blandly. Rin kicks at him from under the table.

"And if I wanted something else?"

"I reserve the right to kick you out at any time," Sousuke calmly responds, even as he manages to hit Rin right in his ankle in retaliation. Haru takes another disinterested sip of tea, likely to cover his sigh of exasperation, although Makoto seems more torn between worry and amusement, hands held up like he’s trying to diffuse the situation.

"Now, now, we don’t have to go that far," he says, good-natured as always, and it’s hard to resist the urge to tease, at least a little.

"What actually happened the last time I was here? Didn’t we get yelled at?"

"I’m pretty sure you managed to set a tablecloth on fire trying to steal my lunch," Sousuke agrees. "I think that’s the reason we got rid of the candles, actually."

"Did you really?" Makoto sounds even more torn between laughter and chastisement. Rin tries very hard to clamp down on the instinct to reach across the table for the half-smirk hovering on Makoto’s lips.

"To be fair, I was about ten."

"It’s people like him that make working in the customer service industry a hell," Sousuke adds solemnly. Haru nods in agreement, as if he actually has anything to contribute to the conversation, but before Rin can call him out on it, Makoto beats him to it.

"I don’t think Rin’s _that_ bad," he says, an echo from what Rin said to him before, and Rin entirely fails to hold back a laugh.

"Oh, gee, thanks," he sniggers, though despite his sarcasm he can’t help but feeling mildly giddy at how quickly Makoto stepped in, always with the best intentions, and waves him off with a grin when Makoto looks like he’s about to apologize.

"See, you get to say that because you always see Rin on his best behavior," Sousuke says. Makoto furrows his brow, like he wants to disagree again, though this time around, Rin knows he’s in the right, as much as he hates to admit it. He once again finds himself desperately hoping that Haru looking pointedly over at him has nothing to do how obvious it feels his face is being right now. "Whether you’d be able to handle him at anything else--"

"He can," Haru suddenly speaks up; even Makoto jumps slightly, and almost immediately  turns red.

"Haru!" Makoto protests, but this time Rin beats him to the punch, more than a little eager to distract from the twisting in his stomach at the sight.

"Is that a challenge?" he growls. Haru simply cocks an eyebrow while Sousuke grabs a gingersnap, clearly settling in to watch, as Makoto hesitates.

"Would I just be acting as a server, then?"

Rin knows he shouldn’t be taking advantage of this, that there’s a very high chance he’ll end up crossing a line, but this is also not likely a situation he’ll find himself allowed to indulge again anytime soon, flanked by friends whom he could easily blame for riling him up. He finds himself leaning across the table with a practiced snarl. "Oho? So say I demand my order be redone because it’s salty as shit--how would you handle that?"

Makoto blinks once before he flashes an extraordinarily professional smile. "I would apologize for the inconvenience and make sure your order is redone to your taste as quickly as possible."

"And if I’m not satisfied by that?"

"Then I would offer a refund and possibly a free alternate meal that ideally would meet your standards."

"Well, he’d certainly be calm in the face of danger," Sousuke comments. Haru hums in agreement; Makoto’s expression breaks for a moment as he glances worriedly at Haru, and without really thinking it through Rin tries a different tactic.

"Let’s say I say I like you. What would you say if I asked how’d you like to go out sometime?" As soon as the words are out Rin is hit with regret, praying that no trace of sincerity managed to slip through as silence falls over the table, leaving nothing but a vague ringing in his ears.

"Wow," Haru says flatly.

"Was that supposed to be flirting?" Sousuke adds. Rin can feel his face start to boil and for the first time in a while wishes for death on the spot.

Of everyone Makoto seems perfectly unaffected as he keeps up the perfect face of neutrality, pleasant smile not slipping once as he says, "Unfortunately I’m not a part of the menu. Might I recommend something else?"

What little brain power Rin has managed to hang on to in the aftermath of his own embarrassing admission promptly withers away as what Makoto just said sinks in. It seems to take a beat to register with Makoto himself, as well, because his professionalism vanishes and he suddenly turns even redder than he had before, burying his face in his hands.

"I can’t believe you made me say that," he practically whines, and if Rin hadn’t been blushing bad enough before, it is certainly worse now, Makoto’s embarrassment practically rolling off of him in waves. It takes everything Rin has not to cover his own face up, although he does turn sharply away from the pointed looks he can feel both Sousuke and Haru shooting him.

"No, I’m pretty sure that was all you," he grumbles, and he can hear Makoto make a vague sort of noise that could be in protest, but mostly sounds embarrassed. The strange mix of shame and delight that Rin feels at being the cause of it doesn’t stop the small seed of thought that maybe, just maybe, there’s something to push here after all, though. And as forbidden a thought it is, the fact that he can just catch a glimpse of a smile out of the corner of his eye elevates it to a status of at least considering it’s worth pursuing--assuming he doesn’t die of humiliation of even trying to make a move first, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't actually remember if it's ever stated in canon what Sousuke's family does, but I decided they run a bakery because I find the mental image of big, burly Sousuke being a baker hilarious.
> 
> At least it's kind of a confession at the end? :'D


	4. Problems + Fears

As a child, Makoto had always had problems with speaking up--it wasn’t through anyone’s fault but his own, but he’s sure that his early friendship with Haru was nothing short of a miracle to his parents. They never really could understand how exactly Makoto had managed to be so mature for his age and yet still so childishly shy, not that he could blame them:  he was bubbly and friendly yet bitterly quiet around people he didn’t know, and unless he was talked to first expecting him to say anything was like pulling teeth. It was just easier to keep his own thoughts quiet in favor of listening to other people’s; and perhaps as a consequence, he soon found speaking up for other people was significantly easier than speaking up for himself.

Rin had always been the opposite:  Rin wore his heart on his sleeve, especially as a kid, and as much backlash it caused him in his time abroad, it’s brought him so much good that Makoto deeply admires, and perhaps, sometimes, envies. It’s always been hard for him to be concerned with his own sake first when there are so many others, not when they have so much at stake, and more than anything, he doesn’t want his happiness to be at the extent of anyone else.

Makoto has never been very good with wanting; it feels selfish, like he’s breaking some kind of unspoken rule. And up until recently, he had thought he had been getting better at not letting that side of him rear up and override rationality.

It feels foolish, but even though Makoto knows that Rin having had just as many problems should be humanizing, the fact that he had been able to overcome them all sometimes makes him seem even more out of reach. It’s easy to see how naturally Rin is able to click with almost anyone he meets, even more so when it’s someone he’s meeting again. He has such a casual chemistry with Haru and Sousuke and it’s far easier than it should be for the old fear of being forgettable nudge at the back of his mind; that he’s unneeded as they race ahead of him, leaving him behind.

There’s a certain danger in being too complacent in friendship, he thinks, because even if he’s content with staying the same, the world around him is always going to shift and change. Even in moving away from his family and very nearly his friends in the name of pursuing his own dream of teaching swimming, it somehow still feels like he more often than not ends up doing nothing to catch up.

***

"Haru!"

It’s a familiar relief, seeing Haru glance up from the small sketchbook he has perched on his knee. There had maybe been more than a little desperation in the text Makoto had sent him, asking if he was free to meet up, but he needs someone to talk to, or at least give him something else to focus on, and no one is as good at implicitly understanding that as Haru is.

"I’m surprised you aren’t off with Rin or something, I thought he was off to challenge you to a race when he left this morning," Makoto says as he sits next to Haru. They unofficially named a small cafe that was almost dead center between their respective living situations as their default meeting place, and Haru, as per usual, had picked the table in the farthest corner in the back. He was probably people watching, judging by the way he smoothly flips the sketchbook upside-down; he’s never been one to share his work much, no matter how many times Makoto has insisted he should.

"He did," Haru replies simply, to Makoto’s surprise--or at least, he labels it as surprise, to call it disappointment would just be petty. He briefly wonders where Rin had run off to instead--it wasn’t like he didn’t have a number of options, Makoto being just one of many. "I turned him down."

"Really?" This time at least the surprise is more genuine. "Why?"

"Because I know as well as he does we’re supposed to be resting. So no swimming until next year." There’s the slightest tinge of bitterness coloring Haru’s voice that Makoto can’t help but smile at; it’s remarkable how much Haru’s matured over the years, even if his passion for water hasn’t so much changed as evolved into something suitable for him to pursue. It’s good he’s been able to find that path, to use as an opportunity to grow and push to be something more--unlike himself, doing more of the same.

Haru glances briefly up, and Makoto knows he’s waiting for him to broach the subject of his text first, but Makoto can’t quite bring himself to do it. The internal struggle must be obvious on his face, which Makoto feels a small pang of guilt at, because Haru sighs and says, "You wanted to talk?"

"You didn’t seem that surprised when I showed up with Rin the other day," Makoto settles on--he still can’t quite get himself to directly ask anything for his own sake, it seems.

Haru shrugs slightly. The _it wasn’t surprising_ , goes unspoken. "I assumed he’d be staying with you," Haru adds out loud, likely at Makoto's thoughts showing on his face. "It makes sense."

"Oh?" Makoto is sure his disheartenment is pathetically obvious, because he can feel it coursing through every fiber of his being. It feels unfair that the moment his feelings for Rin become the most obvious is when he’s questioning whether he’d even be able to keep himself in Rin’s life. "I mean, it was just happenstance, really, between it and a hotel room I doubt he’d prefer to be sleeping on the floor."

Haru hums nondescriptly, and to anyone else, it might just look like Haru’s lost in thought, but Makoto can see Haru’s hesitation plain as day. A vague whimper escapes as he barely manages not to cover his face with his hands, though the fact that he can still feel his face heating up doesn’t help.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You do keep bringing him up. Before this--even during high school, you were always pestering me about talking to him." Haru crinkles his nose at the memory, and Makoto laughs a little helplessly.

"I don’t know what to do," he admits. "I know I’m being silly about it, but--it’s just seeing him with people more on his level makes it obvious he’s suited for greater things than, say, sleeping on my floor while I go to school to teach."

"I don’t think Rin notices the affect he has on others," Haru says carefully, after another moment of silence. "So it’s not you, it’s him." Haru furrows his brow slightly, although the small gesture speaks volumes of his frustration, and Makoto really is grateful to have found such a friend in him, for him to care this much about something as stupid as this. "You know there are a lot of people who care about you,” he eventually adds, “but in this case, you should talk to the person this actually concerns."

"You want me to talk to Rin?" Makoto can’t help but feel ashamed at the idea--it already feels significantly worse than even just calling him to make sure he’s okay: to say out loud that he’s worried about being forgotten by him seems ludicrous. Haru just shrugs again.

"He’ll understand," he says, and leaves it at that.

***

Rin is in the kitchen by the time Makoto manages to convince himself to open up the front door, worrying back and forth about whether Rin will be there and what he should do if is or, possibly worse, isn’t. At least that’s one problem solved, and from the looks of it, Rin’s been back a while, what little counter space there is covered in cookware and ingredients for what appears to be udon.

"Hey!" he greets Makoto cheerfully, waving a wooden spoon in his direction. "I thought I’d start up dinner--you had udon on the list but I couldn’t decide which flavor to add, so I just bought a bunch and figured you could choose." He gestures with the spoon to a line of packets lined up by the sink, but Makoto ignores the invitation; he can’t give into the distraction, no matter how preferable it sounds to attempting to initiate the conversation _Haru_ of all people insisted he needs to have.

"Rin?" he starts, stops, then forces himself to continue. "Can I ask you something?"

Rin frowns slightly, but he puts the spoon down and leans on the counter towards Makoto, pushing aside a stray grocery bag for space. "Sure, go ahead."

Makoto hesitates again, and the fact that his silence is plainly worrying Rin is what finally gets him to blurt, "How do you know when something in your life needs to be changed?"

"When you know you want something to change, I suppose," Rin says after a beat. "Is something wrong?"

The answer to that is yes, but the reasons for that are too ridiculous to admit out loud. He wants to be able to call Rin without thinking he’s eating up his time that could be spent with other people; he wants him to himself, to know he has a smile he reserves just for him, to no longer think he’s destined to be left behind, and it’s selfish and inconsiderate to ever put someone in a position having to answer to that. It was so much easier to ignore all this back when he had the right environment and the right excuse to naturally spend time together, rather than having to make them happen somehow without consulting the other person first.

"What if I don’t want things to change, though? Except things already have," he amends, a little sadly. "It’s not anything important, really, I guess it just sometimes feels like everyone is taking such bigger steps than I am that I’ll never really keep up."

"Okay, I don’t want to sound too egotistical, but are you talking about Haru right now, or me?" There’s a strange look on Rin’s face--for as serious an expression he’s wearing, the tips of his ears are noticeably red, and it’s hard to tell which aspect his scowl is directed at.

"More so, you, probably," Makoto admits, even if it feels like he’s fighting his own tongue to get the words out. He can feel his own face heat up and he ducks it down in favor of staring at his shoes.

Rin sighs, but the way his shoulders sag seems more like a release of tension than some kind of judgement. "Look, the only thing I have to reference is my own experience, and trust me when I say it took a _lot_ before I finally got it that something had to give, but it was only because you and everyone else got me to realize what it was I needed to change. Like," Rin pauses, runs a hand through his hair and sighs again. "Things are going to change no matter what, but what you change depends on what you need, and just--Makoto, I mean it _really_ literally when I say you guys saved me my second year, no matter what it’s not something you achieve on your own."

A cold wave of fear washes over Makoto as exactly what Rin is admitting sinks in. "You mean you would’ve--"

"I don’t--know," Rin cuts him off, the words jilted. It seems so obvious, now that it’s out there; Rin had even mentioned that they had saved him plenty of times throughout their third year after they had properly reunited, but he had never actually clarified what they had apparently saved him from. "I could’ve, though. But the point is," he adds firmly, "I didn’t, and that’s because of you guys. I wouldn’t leave any of you behind, not now that I’ve managed to get you all back."

"Is that the only reason?" Makoto regrets the question as soon as it slips out, but there's no taking it back now, and Rin looks more thoughtful than angry, which is something at least.

"Makoto, I promise you, I--people don’t like you because you’re convenient somehow, people like you because you’re, you." Rin flails slightly, apparently searching for the right words. "You--You’re nice, and get along with cats, and always have everyone else’s best interests at heart, it’s not like anyone could ever like you any less just because you act selfish once in a while--which is the problem here, right?" Makoto manages to get himself to nod. "And you’re worried that you’re not changing fast enough to justify acting that way, yeah?" Makoto nods again, feeling more ashamed than ever. "Alright. Answer honestly:  where do you think I’d be right now if I wasn’t staying at your place?"

Makoto hesitates. "In your hotel room?"

"Wrong!" Rin actually makes a buzzing noise, like he's on some sort of game show. "I would be here, in your living room, getting ready to watch a bad rom-com marathon with you. Maybe we’d be having take-out instead of me cooking, but the only thing me staying here is that it’s saved me a train ride."

The words don’t seem entirely real, but then, having Rin here still seems more like a dream than reality. Nonetheless, he feels lighter than he has all week, and it’s not entirely intentional when he asks, "So it’s okay for me to be a little selfish right now?"

"Yeah. Anytime," Rin says quickly. Makoto studies him carefully, and Rin shifts slightly under his stare, since that really is what he’s doing, no matter how rude it is--Rin’s got his hair tied up in a small ponytail, and there’s a smudge of what is probably flour on his cheek, contrasting noticeably with the blush that’s adorning his face. He steps forward.

"Okay," he echoes, and takes another step up towards the counter. He can see Rin stiffening, face turning red, and he reaches out to wipe the smudge of flour away. He wants to move closer, to seal the distance between them and claim something of his own from Rin that he  knows no one else has gotten. Rin isn’t moving away--really, he isn’t moving at all, standing frozen under Makoto’s light touch. Makoto sways forward slightly, and then crumples at the last minute and buries his face in his arms against the countertop.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "I’m sorry, I--" He trails off, not even sure what he’s apologizing for. After a moment, however, he feels a hand in his hair, and he lets himself relax into the touch. At least he can enjoy this, just for this moment, just for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...have a lot of thoughts and opinions on Makoto and Rin as characters that I really wish the anime explored, but it never quite did, so this is basically one giant self-indulgence of that. Also, this is probably the most literally I have ever managed to take a prompt, and I'm really not sure how to feel about the fact that it's "problems and fears" lol


	5. Different Sport + Personality Swap

The second week of Rin’s break was brought in with what felt like a significant anti-climax considering the roller-coaster of emotions he had been facing since he’d first arrived in Tokyo. Since that one near-kiss, Makoto had gone back to acting completely normal, which is to say he’s constantly smiling and it’s nigh-impossible to tell whether he’s being teasing, genuine, or trying to cover something up, though Rin thinks he’s getting better at telling them apart. All in all, it’s bit jarring when Makoto’s phone goes off at just past eight in the morning. Rin is awake enough to not be startled too bad, used to starting his days early, but Makoto nearly falls off his stool in his half-asleep state, only barely managing to not knock over his coffee as he scrambles for his phone.

"--‘Lo?" Makoto mumbles sleepily, and even though Rin doesn’t quite know where they stand at the moment, that doesn’t stop him from shooting Makoto an amused glance, to which Makoto responds by sticking out his tongue. Rin chuckles quietly, even as his face heats up slightly, and he quickly returns to his own cup of coffee as he scrolls through his phone. He does his best to tune the conversation out as Makoto speaks quietly into the phone, which apparently involves a lot of apologizing before he finishes with something that sounds like, "See you soon," and he turns to Rin.

"I completely forgot I promised Kisumi I’d join his game today," he says, a hint of an apology still in his voice, and Rin raises an eyebrow. "It starts at 10 but it’s a bit of a ways away, so we’d have to leave soon--or, that is, do you want to come?"

"Sure, why not," Rin shrugs. "I haven’t seen him in ages--doesn’t Kisumi play basketball, though?"

"Yup!" Makoto says brightly, sounding much more awake now, which makes for an amusing contrast with his unfixed bedhead. "I played with him for a bit in middle school, although I never made it as far as joining the team like he did. Still, he likes to invite me to participate in his pickup games a lot since he found out that our schools are just a train ride away from each other."

"Exactly how often do you go?" Rin can’t help but feel amused at the mental image:  he mostly has memories of Kisumi from elementary school, but he remembers him quite clearly as being someone who, if you gave him an inch, would charm his way into getting a mile, and Makoto has always been more than a little bad at saying no.

"Often enough! It’s fun, and a good way to get exercise other than jogging every day. Oh! But this doesn’t count as breaking your no-training rule for the break, right?"

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Rin waves off Makoto’s suddenly concerned look, and Makoto immediately beams. "Just because I can’t swim doesn’t mean I can’t play other sports."

***

"Makoto!"

It’s impossible to mistake the shout as coming from anyone but Kisumi, and Rin soon finds himself frozen in place as Kisumi changes his path halfway and starts sprinting for Rin instead. "Rin!" Kisumi cries out, and before he can fully process it Rin finds himself being tackled with a hug.

"Oh God, hi," Rin manages to get out as Kisumi pulls back nearly as fast as he came barreling in, although he keeps a firm grip with his hands on Rin’s shoulders. Despite the shocking greeting, it’s hard not to return his bright grin.

"You didn’t tell me Rin was coming too!" Kisumi says to Makoto, who immediately looks worried.

"Sorry! That isn’t a problem, right?"

"Not at all! We were actually worried we might have an odd man out, this is perfect. Hang on--I’ve got dibs on Makoto!" Kisumi calls over his shoulder to the rest of the group before he turns back with as bright a grin as ever, apparently oblivious to the plainly audible grumbles of annoyance, including one guy who shouts back, "Of course you do!"

"So it’ll be five on five, then," Makoto takes a quick sweep of the court, waving to a couple of guys that he apparently already knows. Kisumi lets go of Rin in favor of draping his arm over Makoto’s shoulders, and Rin suddenly feels very alone on the court.

"You wanna call captain?" Kisumi asks, what appears to be a teasing edge coloring his voice. Makoto laughs a little sheepishly.

"I’ll pass, thanks," he says, and with a light shrug Kisumi takes off once again with a quick, "Suit yourself!" Makoto moves back over to Rin’s side and smiles at him, which Rin does his best to return. "You ready to go?"

"Are there any rules?" Rin asks, hoping he doesn’t sound as extraordinarily lost as he feels. Somehow, the idea that this would be more complicated than shooting hoops hadn’t exactly crossed his mind when he had agreed to tag along.

"Well, you’re generally expected to call your own fouls, and first to fifteen wins--are we counting points by ones and twos?" Makoto calls over to the group of boys Kisumi has gone over to join, where they seem to be discussing teams. One of the ones who had waved to Makoto steps forward.

"Yeah, we’re aiming for win by two if we can, but Tanaka’s got a date at one, supposedly." One of the taller boys--presumably Tanaka--punches the speaker in the shoulder, who looks distinctly unapologetic. Kisumi shoots him a thumbs-up, either at the ground rules or at the apparent date, and Rin turns to Makoto.

"What does any of that mean."

Makoto blinks once before he smiles kindly, if not a bit abashedly. "Basically if you make the basket from outside the arc, it’s worth more points. You don’t really need to worry about keeping score, but whichever team gets fifteen first wins, but only if they’re ahead by two. We might ignore that rule, though, if we end up going for too long. Does that make sense?"

"I can work with it," Rin mutters, stretching his arm to at least have something familiar to do before working out. "What about, fouls and stuff?"

"I can call you out on those if you like," Makoto promptly offers, of course. "I’d just want to clarify that with the rest of the team, first, though, it can look like bad sportsmanship otherwise."

"And heaven forbid anyone ever accuse you of being anything less than an angel, ever," Rin says flatly, although the twitch at his lips probably gives him away. Makoto blinks again and turns a little pink, and he hastily hurries forward to join the rest of the guys, with Rin following in close step, doing his best not to laugh.

Regardless of whatever earlier discussion Kisumi had been leading before, they end up choosing teams by shooting hoops:  Kisumi nails his with the ease of someone who’s been playing for years, and Makoto lets out a sigh of relief when he’s swishes neatly through the net. Rin’s bounces anticlimactically off the backboard, and he promptly decides to do everything he can never to handle the ball again for the rest of the game.

"Is there a reason all the people who actually made baskets get to be on the same team," he somewhat rhetorically asks Tanaka, who had missed his second shot when too many people nailed their first ones to make up even teams. Tanaka shrugs.

"They like to win," he says, and Rin sighs and mentally prepares himself to play.

It’s a bit unnerving to be on the team opposing Makoto--not in that he’s unused to competing against him, but basketball is a significantly different sport from swimming, and even having at least Kisumi on his side might make him feel less like the odd-man out. At the very least, maybe Makoto will go a little easier on him than the rest of Kisumi’s friends, except Rin catches Makoto’s eye and Makoto’s smile turns into something sharper, and Rin’s breath catches in his throat.

It’s always been obvious, even from a distance, that Makoto in a competitive mood is a sight to behold. Rin never got to swim the same length as him of a relay, but even from a distance, the sheer presence of his swimming is palpable to say the least. And apparently, that sense of competition carries over no matter what the sport is, and it is becoming quickly apparent that it is a different experience entirely going up against him like this one-on-one.

By some dumb stroke of luck, Rin’s team wins the shootout to decide who gets the ball first, but as soon as things start and the ball is in play, Makoto sweeps in and steals in, and with Kisumi close behind they take off for the point.

The rest of the match proceeds similarly, with Rin mostly running back and forth along the court while the actual basketball players, plus Makoto, dominating the game. For all Makoto said about this being an alternative to jogging, this mostly feels like a series of sprints than anything, although Rin would definitely take that over risking catching the attention of any of the other players.

Of course, it’s just as he’s thinking this that Tanaka notices Rin’s lack of participation, and apparently decides suddenly involving him would through the opposing team for a loop since he shouts, "Rin!" in the briefest of heads-ups before Rin finds a ball being thrown at his face. At the very least, his plan most likely succeeds, since it certainly throws Rin off guard, and he only barely manages to catch it. Before he can even begin to figure out what he’s supposed to do now, he suddenly finds himself being marked by Makoto, and who flashes Rin a smile unlike anything he’s seen Makoto produce before. Their height difference never felt quite so apparent as  it does now. Rin stumbles back instinctively, fumbling with the ball as he tries to regain his footing.

"Careful! Traveling!" Makoto points out cheerfully, although his smile like before hasn’t lost that sharp edge. Rin thinks it should probably be concerning that he likes it.

"Let me guess, I’m not supposed to do it," Rin deadpans. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Tanaka edging his way into an open position for a pass.

"Don’t worry, I’ll let it slide," Makoto replies perfectly in turn, and yeah, he really likes this side of Makoto. Competition sits remarkably well on Makoto, even if he would have preferred to have discovered that somewhere other than the middle of a basketball game that he has no talent for. Tanaka waves a hand and Rin takes a chance and attempts to throw the ball past Makoto--except it barely gets it out of his hands before Makoto scoops it up and spins around, shooting it up and over his head, and Rin hears the soft whoosh of the net behind him.

"What the hell, that’s no fair!" he squawks, but Makoto’s just laughing. He ruffles Rin’s hair briefly, and the touch burns, before Makoto jogs back to the center of the court to reclaim the ball for his team.

"Ah well, it was worth a shot," Tanaka sighs as Rin wanders after Makoto back to their starting points. "Don’t worry, there’s not much anyone can do against him when he’s in the zone."

"Yeah," Rin manages to agree, and hopes the waver in his voice doesn’t give away anything more than it already has.

***

It’s no surprise Rin’s team loses, although it’s by less of a margin than he’d thought, albeit in no part thanks to him. Tanaka had eventually had to remind everyone quite loudly he needed to be going soon, and after some riffing from his friends, they finally let him go, apparently swayed by the pictures of his date he had on his phone. And so, with one man down and an uneven number of players left, they had mutually agreed to end things there--and besides, Makoto’s team technically had a two point lead anyway, once the numbers were added up.

"Um--" Rin glanced up from his water bottle to see Makoto hovering by him, having returned to sounding significantly meeker. It really is impressive what posture could do to his size. "I didn’t actually remember to ask before all this, but have you never played in proper game of basketball before?"

"Oi, just because I’m athletic doesn’t mean I’m naturally good at all sports or some shit," Rin says, a touch defensively, though it’s obvious it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek. Makoto smiles, but before he can say anything, Kisumi comes bounding up and promptly slings his arm back around Makoto’s shoulders.

"Yo, Makoto, good game! I saw what you were doing there on the court with Rin," he says with a wink, and both Makoto and Rin freeze. If Kisumi notices, he certainly doesn’t seem to care, since he continues on cheerfully, "So since when has that been a thing?"

"No--it’s not--" Makoto sputters, while Rin just feels like he’s burning from the inside out. Kisumi frowns slightly as he glances between the two of them, and then he breaks out into a bright grin.

"Ohh," he says. "I get it, don’t worry." He winks again, which is, contrary to what he’s said, in fact quite worrying. "Oh, well, at least you’re still getting some!" Makoto makes a strangled sort of noise, and Kisumi switches over to a look of pure pity that Rin would probably be getting emotional whiplash if he wasn’t already numb with embarrassment and possibly more than a little distraction at the thought. "Oh my God you poor thing, you’re not even getting that."

"Kisumi, please stop," Makoto sounds a little like he’s on the verge of tears, mortification practically radiating off of his being. Kisumi takes another look at the two of them, and apparently comes to some sort of conclusion, because he nods and pats his hand firmly on Makoto’s back.

"Not _yet_ ," he amends, and when neither of them denies it--at least in Rin’s defense, he doesn’t think his voice is working properly just yet--he laughs and smacks Makoto on the back again. " _Definitely_ a good game."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if the lack of an update yesterday didn't give it away, I have unfortunately fallen behind in prompts--I was way busier last night than I expected to be, and really this week as a whole has been kind of hectic, but I'm still really sorry I didn't have anything to post, I always feel really bad when I'm not able to keep up with projects I take on. Of course, with that being said, I'm probably going to end up combining what would be today and tomorrow's prompts for one final chapter--again, I feel really bad, but I want to at least finish the challenge on time and still have it be at least a little quality. Once again, I'm really really sorry, and if anyone feels cheated you can always prompt me here or on my tumblr or something, I just want to make sure that folks reading this are as happy as I possibly can orz
> 
> In the meantime, I hope everyone who's been reading at the very least enjoyed this chapter, and my obvious lack of knowledge on how basketball works! :'D


	6. AU/Limits + Christmas/NewYears

For as much as Makoto is sure it’s because December is ticking towards January, and the day Rin has to go home is beginning to loom on the horizon, it’s becoming easier and easier to be bold. It’s nothing more than small touches spread throughout the day that could easily be brushed off as accidental or meaningless, but it brings a spark of excitement each time, and Makoto is starting to realize why it’s so easy to give into the casual addiction and push for more.

There needs to be a moment, he thinks, and he can’t help but notice that the voice in his head sounds a little like Rin. It’s not surprising, though it does certainly reflect exactly how normal this has all become, being around him:  Rin the romantic, who has a sharp tongue and cares so much about people being the best they can be, and who is currently sprawled out on his couch without a care. Makoto has deigned to take the floor, leaning back against the armrest; despite the fact that they had taken a lazy day to do nothing much play video games, neither have felt particularly to move, not helped by the fact that it at some point gotten dark. Makoto glances up when Rin lets out a groan.

"Ughh, I don’t feel like cooking, I don’t want to get up," he says dramatically, and Makoto smiles slightly at how familiar the tone has become.

"We could go out to eat?" Makoto suggests. Rin flops over on the couch to better face Makoto and scowls.

"Doesn’t that defeat the point of not moving."

"I could cook tonight instead if you’d--"

"We can go out," Rin cuts him off, and grins when Makoto pouts slightly.

"My cooking’s not _that_ bad."

"Sure, if you’re ever in the mood for plain boiled noodles. What you’ll do without me," Rin says, almost to himself. Makoto isn’t actually sure whether it’s something he should be responding or not, but there’s a part of him that knows he can’t let the chance pass by.

"You’ll just have to come back again." Makoto smiles brightly past his instinctive rush of worry that he’s somehow overstepping some sort of boundary as Rin blinks at him.

"Of course I will," Rin scoffs, and turns away to stare back up the ceiling, although Makoto can still see his ears have turned red. He allows himself a small grin, feeling his own face warm up pleasantly.

"Should we head out then?"

"Yeah, sure."

Makoto had expected the quiet landscape--at least in comparison to the usual bustle of the city--that had come with the snow, but as soon as they are within a block of the local shopping district, there are what appears to be couples everywhere, stomping their way across the icy ground. It takes a moment before it dawns on him. "Oh," Makoto says, his breath puffing out in front of him. He sees Rin glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "It’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it."

"Apparently," Rin drawls, and Makoto huffs out a small laugh. "Did you seriously forget?"

"I hadn’t really been thinking about it," Makoto admits. There have been lights strung up throughout his neighborhood for nearly two months now, so they had long since stopped registering as special, even if Makoto distantly thinks they are quite pretty every time he’s found himself going out at night. "I, ah, don’t suppose this puts a damper on us getting dinner plans?"

"Well it’s fifty-fifty on whether we’d get a discount," Rin says, and despite the cold weather, Makoto can feel the back of his neck grow warm. He tugs a little at his scarf.

"Pizza, then?" he proposes. Rin moves his gaze up to Makoto’s face--he seemed to have been watching Makoto’s hands, and when he catches Makoto’s eye he quickly turns away and huddles a little further into his coat.

"Fine by me."

It takes them a couple of tries to find a pizza place--or really, any sort of restaurant--that isn’t filled completely. At one point Makoto suggests they could try getting something to go, there’s an unspoken but mutual agreement that the wait would likely be just as long, and with no guarantee they could spend that time indoors, and so they continue on until they find a small shop that’s far enough off the main drag that it still, miraculously, has seats left. They don’t get a couples discount--something Makoto is simultaneously grateful and selfishly disappointed at--but they do swing a student discount, at least.

"I’ll go claim the table," Makoto says as a small crowd of people make their way toward the restaurant’s front door, apparently with a similar idea as Makoto and Rin. Rin nods in acknowledgement and Makoto brushes their shoulders ever so slightly as he moves to nab a seat, feeling inordinately pleased when Rin nudges slightly back.

As much as it’s undeniable at this point--and certainly neither of them seem to be denying it--Makoto wonders how much longer he can let things go one when neither of them have actually acknowledged the limits of how far they can go until something has to give. Maybe in some other universe he’d be able to openly declare his intentions; and yet, how do you even go about declaring your intentions in that way? Gravity pulls two people together, but what are you supposed to do when you’re so far caught up in each other’s orbit that it seems redundant to point it out, and yet at the same time doing so may be the only way to keep it in place?

"One pepperoni pizza, ready to be shared," Rin announces, plopping down his seat as he places the pizza, two drinks, and a large pile of napkins on the center of the table. He snags himself a slice and gestures to the rest. "Dig in!"

They eat most of the meal in silence, although it’s certainly not uncomfortable, as Makoto can feel Rin’s foot swing past his leg every now and then. Makoto takes a moment to memorize the sight of Rin sitting across from him, where he’s playing with his straw, still bundled up in his coat and scarf, apparently unwilling to lose the warmth. Rin catches his eye and grins, and it feels like the moment is suspended in time--it’s hard to think of anything other than how much Makoto wants this to last, and then Rin drops his gaze back down at his drink.

Makoto takes a steadying breath, trying to regain his sense of reality. "When are you planning on leaving for Iwatobi?"

"Day after tomorrow, I think," Rin says, and after a beat, adds, "I haven’t actually gotten my train ticket, yet, so it kind of depends on that."

"Wait, really?" The shock of surprise at that startles Makoto almost more than the shock itself, but Rin just shrugs.

"Never quite got around to it," he says, although he sounds strangely more embarrassed than he posture makes him look. Makoto frowns slightly.

"You should probably do that," he says--it would be bad if Rin was late in getting home to see his family, but Rin just shrugs again, and Makoto finds himself left with silence and an empty plate in front of them. "We should probably head back soon," Makoto eventually adds when Rin doesn’t seem to be making any sort of move to break it first. Rin glances up at him and to his sudden worry sighs, but he quickly covers it with a smile that Makoto is increasingly concerned to realize he doesn’t have a response to.

"Sure," he says, and pushes back his chair.

It’s not entirely intentional that Makoto sets them off on the longer than necessary route back home, but it’s Christmas Eve and it’s just so easy to get caught up in the steady flow of people. He wants to reach out for Rin’s hand, but he’s not sure if it’s a gesture he can get away with yet, declaring something in front of so many people that they’re almost but possibly not. He doesn’t even realize how far they’ve gone until they come up to the giant Christmas tree at the center of the square.

"Oh, that’s nice," Rin says, startling Makoto out of his thoughts. Apparently he takes his look as a question. "Well, we don’t really get to see that level of decoration back in Iwatobi."

"And that’s not even one of Tokyo’s main centerpieces," Makoto adds, to which Rin responds with a low whistle, and they gravitate to a small patch devoid of people to gaze up at it for a while. It’s impossible to deny that Rin is actively leaning against him, and yet somehow he’s still surprised to feel his hand slip into his pocket until he manages to tug Makoto’s hang out and laces it loosely with his own.

"Do you want to start heading back?" Rin asks, a little quietly. Makoto hesitates for just a moment before he gives in and gives Rin’s hand a squeeze.

"We can walk around a little longer," he says, and when Rin answers with a bright grin, he thinks, maybe, it doesn’t have to end.

***

Rin leaves with little fanfare; Makoto doesn’t even realize he’s packed until he notices his toothbrush is gone from the bathroom and his shoes are gone from the entryway; Rin had kept his things fairly neat, with all his clothes in his suitcase, but simply seeing it closed and propped up next to the door suddenly makes his apartment feel a whole lot emptier than before. While he ends up pushing his stay an extra night, it was a decision primarily made because the trains that leave early in the morning are cheaper than the overnight. Makoto barely processes his simple goodbye before he’s out the door and gone, nothing left to show he was ever there, except that Makoto’s coffee pot is already turned on, and there’re two mugs out, one used, and one waiting for him.

It takes Makoto a long time to get to a point where he can call himself awake, even beyond the early hour he had gotten up just to see Rin heading out the door. leaving him to wonder if there were less limits than he had thought, considering there was a missed opportunity to be had after all.

***

Of all people, it’s Sousuke who throws it out there he’s going to be holding a New Year’s Eve party, although from the sound of it he was in no small part coerced by Kisumi to be the host. He thinks about asking Rin if he would be willing to make the last minute trip to come along, but he quickly dismisses the whim. He makes sure Haru is coming instead--he hadn’t been, but Makoto was able send him enough sad-faced emojis to get him to change his mind.

Rin had texted Makoto to let him know he had made it back to Iwatobi, but contact has been patchy beyond that. According to Rin, his mom had a whole series of plans she wanted her son to do starting from almost the second he got home; for as much independence she had afforded her children when they were young, she apparently has every intention to take full advantage of what time they’re actually home. Although Rin makes it sound like something to complain about, even through text, Makoto can read the underlying affection, and as much as he’s already missing his easy excuses to spend time with him again, it’s nice to know he’s not completely gone--Rin had once confessed to Makoto he never wanted that to happen again, and he’s done a good job at keeping that promise.

"Thanks for coming along," Makoto says to Haru. Since the bakery is closed by this hour and Sousuke’s house is attached directly to the back, Makoto can see why Kisumi would want to take full advantage of the space, and there are already a good number of his fellow basketball mates filling up the main eating space. Haru offers a silent glance at him as he takes a sip of his drink, already looking exhausted.

"Makoto! You got Haru to come too!" Kisumi comes bounding over, drink in hand; he swings on arm around Makoto in greeting, and attempts to swing his other arm around Haru, who bats it off without batting an eye. Kisumi seems to take no notice, although it’s hard to tell whether it’s because of the drink or because of his natural personality. "No Rin, though?"

"Rin’s gone home for the New Year," Makoto says, a little louder than usual to be heard over the buzz of conversation in the background. Kisumi frowns.

"And he didn’t take you with him? That’s rude," he says. "After spending two weeks with you, you’d think that’d mean something--wait, you mean he didn’t do _anything_?" Kisumi gasps when Makoto feels his face run hot.

"Kisumi, _please_ ," Makoto begs, and he is sure his blush is only getting worse when Kisumi laughs--it’s obvious he’s at least a little drunk at this point, but he grabs at Makoto’s arms with a concerningly sober expression as he says, almost comically seriously, "You have my deepest condolences."

"Kisumi!" Makoto cries out again, but Kisumi has already flitted off. Haru takes another unhelpful sip of his drink, but for all his hidden amusement, Makoto can see the same question in Haru’s eyes. Makoto sighs and does his best to not sound too petulant.

"It’s not Rin’s fault," he says. Haru hums quietly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "I don’t know if he knew he could--I wasn’t giving him much to go off of, so."

"Did you want him to do something?" Haru asks when Makoto fails to come up with a way to continue the sentence.

"I don’t know," Makoto says after a moment, "it’s not fair to make it be up to him, but I don’t know if I’d be able to either?" He knows what he wants--that’s never been the problem, but it’s a matter of getting there that shouldn’t be nearly as hard as it feels like it is. He even knows how Rin is likely to respond, and yet--

"You can’t keep doing that," Haru suddenly says, cutting Makoto off mid-thought, and he jerks a little to stare at him. Before he can say anything, however, they’re interrupted by Kisumi once again, this time by him waving them brightly over towards the television.

"Come join us for the countdown!"

Haru makes absolutely no move to step away from his spot against the wall, but Makoto hesitates, uncertain which way to go. It’s actually a small miracle when he notices his phone is going off:  it’s only because he thought to turn it on vibrate, originally with the intention of not letting it interrupt his evening, but now it gives him an excuse to pay attention to something other than Haru’s accusatory stare or Kisumi’s overeager interest in failure of a love life. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, and stares blankly for a moment before it registers that it is, indeed, Rin’s number displaying on the front.

"Uh--" he starts, swallows against the sudden rush of adrenaline, and gestures a little helplessly to the outside with his phone, which is still buzzing. "Hang on, I’m going to--"

Haru raises an eyebrow and nods, and Makoto hastily stumbles his way out the door, only barely managing to accept the call before the timer runs out.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Rin’s voice comes through the phone, and it suddenly feels like a weight has been lifted off of Makoto’s shoulders. "Happy New Year! Are you doing anything right now?"

"Same to you!" Makoto is sure he sounds embarrassingly transparent right now, but the giddiness building up inside of him is impossible to ignore. "I’m actually at Sousuke’s right now, Kisumi got to a host a party tonight."

"Bet he’s regretting that by now," Rin chuckles, and Makoto can’t help but return the sound. "I, uh, actually had another reason for calling, though, besides well wishes and whatnot."

Makoto frowns slightly. "What is it?"

"So I’m back in Tokyo--"

"You’re--" Makoto cuts himself off, trying to process exactly what Rin’s said. It seems too good to be true. "Did--did something happen with your flight? And what are you doing here so late, are you okay?"

"I’m _fine_ , Makoto," Rin says, and Makoto can hear the smile in his voice. "And, well, it wasn’t precisely canceled so much as I figured I shouldn’t chance it with the snow, y’know? And it turns out things got planned weird and I’m flying back out of Tokyo instead Iwatobi, anyway, and so I thought, maybe I could crash at your place for a couple of days?"

Makoto once again finds himself stuck in a mental loop trying to process exactly what he’s hearing. It takes a second to click. "Where are you right now?"

"Outside your door?" Rin says, and Makoto is setting off before he even processes the action. That doesn’t stop him from continuing forward, though. "I was aiming to catch you at midnight, but--"

"I’ll be there in ten minutes," Makoto says, already fumbling to get his keys out--he had originally decided to borrow a friend’s car to take Haru to the party with him, since there was a high chance it would run past the time the public transportation closed. Now he’s just grateful it’s  giving him a way to get home faster. "Just--wait there, I’ll be there soon."

"I’ll do my best not to freeze in the meantime," Rin deadpans. Makoto laughs a little helplessly as he starts up the car and pulls out.

It’s probably not a good thing that what normally would be a fifteen minute drive, Makoto completes in just over five, but if it gets him closer to Rin faster, he’s willing to let it slide. And indeed, there Rin is at the top of the stairs; he spins around at the sound of Makoto scrambling his way up--his nose and cheeks are pink from the cold, his hair’s a mess from the wind, and Makoto has to take a moment to remember how to breath.

"Hey," he manages to say. Rin grins and shuffles his feet a little, his hands shoved in his pockets. It looks like he had been using his luggage as an improvised seat, based on the way it’s leaning up against the wall. "Do you--want to come inside?"

"Beats standing out here," Rin says, but he sounds a little rattled too, as if he were the one who just sprinted up two flights of stairs. And actually, that might be true--he came all the way back to Tokyo under the flimsy excuse of a rescheduled flight, and he so sure if he asks Rin will say yes, and Rin’s standing in front of him again and Makoto blurts, "I’m going to kiss you."

"Okay," Rin breathes, and that’s all it takes for Makoto to seal their lips together, and it feels like home. He can feel Rin shivering beneath him, and he lifts his hands up to Rin’s cheeks in a half-formed thought to warm them; the motion ends up tilting Rin’s head, though, and suddenly everything’s deeper and hotter and absolutely perfect. It takes him a long while to pull away.

"We should go inside," he murmurs, and Rin nods hastily, his eyes on Makoto’s lips.

"Yeah," he says, "yeah," and Makoto tugs him inside without a second thought.

***

"I would've stayed if you had asked me to--I was waiting for that, I think," Rin says sometime later--Makoto can just make him out in the dim moonlight--he couldn’t be bothered to turn on any of the lights when they had managed to stumble their way onto the couch, and he doesn’t feel any more bothered now, playing with the hair at the back of Rin’s neck. It’s so addicting to just be able to keep up a constant contact:  a steady reminder that he really is here, that this is really his to have. He feels like he should apologize, but it seems Rin is able to take his slight squeeze as apology enough. After a moment, Rin adds quietly, "This’ll have to be long distance."

"That’s okay," Makoto replies, and it’s almost surprisingly how true that is. Somehow, just being able to have him here now makes any sort of future possibilities feel calm in Makoto's mind; it's a comforting sensation that he thinks he could get used to. He glances over at the clock on the coffee table. It’s just past one in the morning--it’s been a while since he’s stayed up that late, and suddenly he remembers.

"Oh God," he says, and Rin jerks up a little out of his hold in surprise, staring as Makoto starts fumbling on the floor for his phone. "I left Haru alone at a party with Sousuke and Kisumi without a ride home."

Rin blinks at him once, then again, and then he bursts out laughing. "Did you seriously, that is _hilarious_ ," he manages to get in between hiccups of laughter. Makoto looks back over him, more than a little distressed.

"I got distracted by you calling me, I didn’t _mean_ to leave him there," he insists, but Rin just tugs him back up on the couch, still chuckling.

"It’s fine, he probably managed to get Sousuke to let him stay over or something."

"Do you have your phone? Could you check?"

"Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll text him now," Rin says soothingly, or as soothingly as he can considering he still sounds highly amused. Makoto waits as Rin types out a quick message, but before Makoto can check what he’s sent he darts forward for a short kiss. "It’ll be fine," he says, his hand resting casually on Makoto’s wrist; it seems he’s enjoying the ability to touch as much as Makoto is. "There--see!" He holds his phone out, and Makoto squints at the bright light to see a text from Sousuke. He signs in relief when he sees it reads, _yeah haru’s here_.

"Sorry," he says sheepishly, but Rin just pulls him back down again. The couch is a little small for the both of them, but between the two of them it’s plenty warm, and Makoto thinks he would be content if he never had to leave. Of course, Rin will have to leave; it’s unavoidable, but Makoto knows he’ll come back, and that, for now, is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND IT'S DONE. I almost feel like I should apologize for what a monster this chapter became, but honestly I'm just impressed I managed to get it done at least technically still on the 20th for me. Once again I'm so sorry I skipped yesterday's prompt in favor of combining it with today's, but I hope the events of this chapter make up for it at least a little bit :'D With that being said, thanks so much to those of you who did read all this, and I really hope you all enjoyed my attempts at writing romance with Makoto and Rin!


End file.
